What it’s like to wear all Pink for 4 years straight

My 4 year story of wearing head to toe pink during middle school

I wore head to toe Pink for 4 years straight, here's my story.

Jenna French

I’d always loved the color pink. I’m a bright and happy person, and the color and I just got along very well. When I was 3, all I wore were pink princess dresses. My mom has told me when kindergarten came around, she was grateful just to get me in pants.

So I had a normal childhood, loving Disney Princesses and obsessing over dresses and shoes, and the sorts. I was apparently made fun of because I was the only 4th grader wearing perfume.

When 6th grade rolled around, for some reason I really liked boot cut jeans, and my friends were telling me I was all out of style and that boys would like me more if I wore skinny jeans, as they were all the rage. The only pair of skinny jeans I owned were pink jeans. So the next day I wore them, and loved them, especially their color.

So I got hooked on pink Jeans, every chance I got I bought them, and eventually, since the rest of my wardrobe was pink anyway, everything that I wore was pink. It was like someone who really likes to wear black, but instead of being dark and ignored, I was bright and apparent.

In my school district, kinder through 6th grade is elementary school, and 7th through 9th grade is Junior High. So the first day of Junior High, I walked into my school, pink jeans, pink shirt, pink backpack, and pink shoes, ready to show everyone that, this is who I was, and no one could make me feel guilty about it.

The problem with being who I was is that my “Pink thing” was all I was. No one bothered to know that I loved video games, or that I loved animals, or maybe that I was smart. I was defined by being that girl who wore all pink. So throughout 6th 7th and 8th grade, that’s who I was.

Then Freshman year came. In my school district, the year before high school. My mother was asking me if when high school came around, if I would continue the trend. After much thought, I gave in, telling her that once high school came around, I would quit my “Pink thing”

But boy, was that scary. How do you stop doing something that has been your life defining trait for 4 out of my 15 years of life? How do you stop being the person you’ve been for the beginning of your teenage years?

I felt it was unfair. Unfair that people who wear maybe all blue, for example, could get away with it, because the color of choice wasn’t “childish”, or too girly. Or how about the countless people who wear all black everyday of their life? I always wondered why what they were doing was fine, but what I was doing wasn’t okay.

The other thing is, it wasn’t like I was someone no one knew about. I was the Mascot, I did the Video Announcements 2 times a week for the whole year, and I was in band. So pretty much everyone at my junior high, of over 1,250 people, knew me and my “Pink thing”. So dropping it was definitely harder.

After much dread, at the end of my 9th grade year, I quit. The catalyst of it was a large breakup that left me feeling empty and not willing to be myself anymore. So, to the relief of my whole family, I picked up the long hated blue jeans.

The first day was miserable, as expected. I don’t think anyone realizes how annoying it is to be asked by dozens of people if you have a fever, or if something is wrong with you. Feeling your forehead jokingly, and showing genuine concern was what I walked into most of the day.

In the aftermath, I realized at 16 years old, that though I had used my “Pink thing” as a crutch, it really did develop my sense of self. When you constantly look like you want attention, you get attention, and you have to defend your reasons for doing what you are doing. People would constantly ask me, “Why do you like pink?” and “Why do you wear all pink?” and my answer was always along the lines of, “because I want to.” Or “Because I like to wear what I wear.” And I wouldn’t put up with their nonsense.

What I’ve learned from this? I’ve learned, you should never let one concrete thing define you. Define yourself and who you are. Be the person other people are curious to learn about. And never let anyone tell you who you are.